


in the depths

by SKZplayer



Category: Stray Kids (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Angst, Developing Friendships, Developing Relationship, Human Hyunjin, Human Jeongin, M/M, Magic, Mermaid Changbin, Mermaid Felix, Mermaid Jisung, Mermaid Seungmin, Sirens, human woojin, mermaid chan, mermaid minho
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-10
Updated: 2020-08-17
Packaged: 2021-03-05 02:47:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,364
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25177144
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SKZplayer/pseuds/SKZplayer
Summary: Chan is the leader of a siren group that fight to keep the oceans safe and out of the hands of harmful humans. One day while the leader is on patrol, his friend, Felix, gets caught by some mortals and vanishes before the elder siren can get to him.Jeongin and his friends are on the beach 24/7, they love to try and clean up anything they see, and love the cool refreshing waves. What Jeongin doesn't expect is to one day find a shark-looking merman on its secluded shores, helpless and wrapped in mortal trash.He also doesn't expect to help, much less fall in love with the merman.
Relationships: Bang Chan/Yang Jeongin | I.N, Han Jisung | Han/Lee Minho | Lee Know, Hwang Hyunjin/Kim Seungmin, Lee Felix/Seo Changbin
Comments: 17
Kudos: 80





	1. prologue

**Author's Note:**

> 1\. I know merpeople and sirens aren't the same thing, its just from Jeongin's view, he thinks their mermen, OK
> 
> 2\. I wrote this to spread AWARENESS ABOUT OUR OCEANS>:(( please please please try and pick up any trash on the streets, it may not seem like it but its very likely to end up in our beautiful waters, even if you're inland. (plus our land creatures also suffer) I understand if you can't exactly get rid of all plastic, I 100% get that, but minimalizing its use can go SO far if everyone hops on board. It doesn't only affect the creatures, it affects us as well.  
> Sorry I'm done ranting, but seriously, our earth is in danger.
> 
> 3\. very short prolougue, i apologize

“FELIX!” Chan screams, lungs burning as he swims desperately to try and keep up with his friend. 

The younger siren writhes and cries out in agonizing pain, pleading for his friend to get him out of the horrible mess he’s in. His grey eyes look around in a panic, trying to find anyway he could possibly escape from the hell hole he’s in.

Sharp, strong ropes tangle the young siren, they cut his spotted tail and skin open, thick red liquid spilling into the ocean. 

Chan can’t believe he came out alone, especially when is fishing season for humans. He didn’t think the humans would come out this far, but if theres one thing he should know by now, its that mortals are unpredictable. 

Chan tries, he really tries to keep up while the boy is being dragged away in the nets, being pulled in by some human machine. 

Chan isn’t Jisung, who can swim at insane speeds, he isn’t Seungmin, who can charm any human with his honey vocals. He’s falling behind, Felix is getting further and further out of his reach. 

“No, no no, please!” Chan sobs, his limbs growing tired, tail no longer wanting to move. The last thing he sees of his friend is his screaming, flailing his limbs as he tries to escape his confines.

Chan stops, so physically exhausted that he can’t move any longer. He sinks down in the water, eyesight going hazy from the mental and physical strain. 

He gets snagged on something, something barbed and tangled, but he can’t process it. Its probably waste from the actions of humans, polluting his home. 

The screams of his friend echo in his head, bouncing around in his skull as he sinks deeper into the rubbage lurking in the sea. 

Where’s Felix? Where are they taking him? Is he ever going to see him again? All nagging thoughts flee from his brain as his eyelids grow heavy, sharp objects tear his skin and pull blood from his veins, but he feels numb. Nothing feels real. He feels empty. 

Blackness overtakes his conscious, and he slips away into the mind numbing void.


	2. washed ashore

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> note: in this world merpeople and sirens are things that are known to be alive. Coolio, carry on.

Jeongin takes in the warm summer day, breathing in the salty air while the sun shines down on him. Every day he has free, its spent on the beach. He feels disconnected from the world here, all responsibility washed off his shoulders like the tide pushing and pulling against the sand. Its perfect. 

The boy usually comes here with his two best friend friends, Woojin and Hyunjin. The three live together in a town home just a few blocks away, they’ve been inseparable since high school, best buds. 

The other two have plans with some other friends today, leaving Jeongin by himself. Thats ok though, he needs to time to think by himself, to enjoy his day without Hyunjin talking his ear off. He loves the boy to death, but man can he talk. 

Jeongin strolls down the fine white sand, enjoying the feeling of the grain on his feet, loving how they sink down underneath the hot surface to a cool underbelly. 

Today Jeongin has one goal in mind: He wants to surprise Woojin. Woojin has been so kind to him, and has been helping him with his vocals. Woojin is a singing master, and Jeongin aspires to be as good as him, he wants to sing just like his elder friend. Sure, Woojin just does it as a hobby, his real passion is in marine biology. But he’s one of the best the young boy has ever heard.

He’s so patient when Jeongin can’t catch onto new techniques that easily, is always there when the youngest needs him. 

Jeongin isn’t exactly that wealthy… so he’s decided to DIY something instead of spending an unnecessary amount of money on something thats pointless. He’ll just make something that pointless instead.

Plus, Woojin really isn’t materialistic, he loves gifts that take more thought than money. 

Jeongin is currently showering the beach for different kinds of seashells, wanting all sorts of them to make his project look good. Jeongin loves the beach almost as much as Woojin does, the elder boy has devoted his entire life to it, where Jeongin just comes with him to learn all sorts of things while his friend rambles about the wonders of the sea.

Woojin hasn’t been able to visit the waters that much lately, being stuck in his work place to observe different things and take care of wounded sea creatures, get them ready to go back into the sea. Which is great, but he wants to be back on the shore.

The boy puts the shells he’s collected in his right pocket, while stuffing his left pocket with random pieces of trash. He hates seeing garbage on the sand, all the birds that could be fooled into thinking its food, all the small sea creatures that could be strangled or cut. Its horrible. 

Jeongin walks for a long while, roaming far enough where he gets to a space where theres no people. Its ok though, he’s gone further, he knows how to get home. 

The sand is more course here, and the shells are almost always broken, the seas too rough in this part for them to come out in one piece. Jeongin pouts, maybe he should head back, theres nothing to find. A few more minutes of searching, and he’s proven correct. Theres not a single intact shell. With a heavy sigh, Jeongin turns around, ready to head home. 

“rrgh,” A gruff pant sounds, stopping Jeongin in his tracks. Where did that come from? He stays still, listening for it again. Its silent for a moment, the only sounds coming from the waves crashing on the shore, but the gruff voice sounds again. The more the boy listens the more he realizes the voice sounds like its in pain, slight whines able to be heard if you pay close attention.

“Hello?” Jeongin whispers shakily, walking to where he thinks the voice is sounding. Jutted rocks stick up out of the sand, leading to a cliff hanging seaside instead of the nice white sand beaches. More groans sound behind the rocks, pulling the boy towards them. Maybe its dangerous, maybe he shouldn’t intrude. But what if someone is actually hurt? The thought of leaving someone for dead when he knows he could’ve helped would weigh down on him too much. He has to check it out. 

Jeongin creeps up the rocks, revealing a sandy clearing in the circle of pointed stone. Its honestly beautiful, completely cut off from anyone else. The perfect getaway. 

Jeongin gasps when he finally sees what was making the sound, not believing his eyes. Laying on the sand, wrapped in small fishing nets and plastic, is what the boy can only assume has to be a mermaid-or man. It looks like a man.

His skin is pale and bruised, chest rising and falling shallowly. His tail looks like a shark. Its dark gray with white splatters covering the tops of his dorsal fins that poke from his back, and the uneven cauda fins at the bottom. White spots also decorate his human skin, making him look like a painting.

He seems to be barely conscious, and in a great deal of pain. Jeongin gets over his shock at seeing the mythical creature, deciding to help him. He hops down off the rocks, not caring when his shorts get covered in sand from his ungraceful landing. He rushes to the creatures side on his knees, examining his bleeding cuts carefully. This isn’t good. How did a magnificent being end up like this? 

The boy carefully lays his hand on the small of the mermans back, in-between where his tail starts and where his dorsal fin lies. The creature huffs, but doesn’t stop the human, too weak to do anything. 

“I’m going to help you, don’t worry.” Jeongin whispers, “I don’t know who did this to you, but I won’t do the same.” The man doesn’t reply, but the human can see that one of his eyes are open. He stares for a second, not expecting the whites of his eyes to actually be grey, while his iris is a milky white, swirling with uncertainty and pain. Jeongin frowns, he needs to get him out of these ropes.

“I’m sorry if this hurts.” The man closes his eyes tightly as Jeongin starts to untangle him, hissing when Jeongin takes away plastic thats wrapped around his arms and fins. Jeongin cringes when he has to pull out some of the plastic from inside his skin, getting embedded in there. The human keeps whispering small apologies, gathering all the trash he gets into a pile to clean up. Most of them bloodied from the shark.

“This isn’t good, can you swim?” Jeongin asks. He doesn’t really expect an answer from the shark-man, not even knowing if they speak the same language. He’s pleasantly surprised when the man answers,  
“N-no.” The one word seems like it took too much energy to say, his chest rising and falling at an unsteady pace. Jeongin bites his lip, he can’t just leave him here for humans to find him and do god knows what.

“One more question,” The human speaks up. The merman looks at Jeongin with his tired eyes, waiting for what he has to say.

“How long can you stay out of water?”

“As long as I need to.” Great. Mer-people have been reported multiple times on these beaches, but very few humans have actually seen them in full. They’ve stopped appearing since the roaring twenties, about 100 years ago, when humans started getting more advanced and started polluting the waters.

The human isn’t sure about the plan he’s currently brewing in his brain, he’s not sure if the merman will object, or if he’s even safe to be around. But he’s in pain and needs help. Thats all he’s currently focused on.

Jeongin whips out his phone, praying that he has service to call Woojin. 

“Yes!” He exclaims quietly, he has one bar. The merman looks at the boy with a confused glance, wondering what the contraption in his hand is.

“I’m going to get you help don’t worry,” Jeongin whispers gently while choosing Woojin’s contact. After the first three rings, he starts to get worried. What if he doesn’t pick up? What if he’s stuck here with this helpless shark-dude?

“Hello?” Woojin’s honey voice answers from the other end of the call.

“Woojin!” Jeongin exclaims in relief.

“…Yes? Are you ok?” The elder asks, his tone audibly confused. Jeongin is never this enthusiastic about a phone call. He never even calls people, its almost always a text.

“Um, I kind of have a situation, I need you to help.”

“What? Whats wrong?!” He automatically gets worried, is his friend hurt?!

“No no, I’m fine. It’s too weird to explain over the phone… Just bring your truck, I’ll send you my location.” 

“Jeongin, whats happening?” He’s really starting to get worried.

“I told you I can’t explain, you’ll have to see for yourself. Just be quick.” Jeongin hangs up before the elder can say anything, he doesn’t want his endless questioning. He knows the boy will show up as fast as he can.

After Jeongin sends his location over text, he puts his attention back on the merman, seeing him look at the boy with curiosity, hidden under the obvious pain he’s in.

“My friends going to help you ok? We’re going to need to take you away from here, is that ok?” The shark-man’s eyes widen in panic, white orbs flicking between him and the ocean. He starts squirming a bit, as if wanting to get back in the water and swim away. Jeongin puts a hand on his tail gently, the surface smooth and cold to the touch.

“Its ok,” He says hurriedly, “We’ll take you right back. But we can’t leave you here by yourself!” The man shakes his head,

“Fe-Felix,” He stutters, “I have to get to Felix!” The man has a thick accent on his tongue, his voice wrapping around certain words in a strange, unfamiliar way. Jeongin doesn’t know who ‘Felix’ is. Maybe he’s a brother? A boyfriend? Do mermaids have boyfriends? Who knows. The shark is thrashing, causing him greater pain and for his chest to heave.

“Hey hey,” The human tries to calm him down, grabbing his angled jaw gently in his hand. The merman looks up at him, eyes teary. He looks terrified.

“I just want to help, I promise I’ll return you right back to the ocean. Please, you have to trust me.” The creature sighs, looking utterly defeated. He doesn’t have a choice, does he? He’s in no shape to fight his way out of the situation, and he can tell this human really has good intentions. Theres so signs of him lying, theres no malice behind his words or gaze, the shark can tell he wouldn’t hurt him. But Felix… 

The merman ponders, this boy is human, maybe he can tell him some details about what took his friend, maybe he can help. The creature reluctantly nods his head, maybe this will help him find his beloved friend.

“Ok.” Jeongin breathes out in relief. If the shark resisted, the boy doesn’t know what he’d do. He doesn’t want to leave him here, but he doesn’t want to get bitten by those razor sharp teeth if he tried to protest. He shivers at the thought, seeing the pearly fangs from behind his plump and scarred lips.

“He’ll be here in a few,” The mermaid huffs in defeat, lying down while closing his eyes.

xxx

“Wake up,” the merman feels shaking at his shoulders, its gentle, but still enough to stir him. He makes a disgruntled groan, his milky eyes scanning his surroundings. He’s still on the beach, the scorching marks on his sides still painfully evident.

“Can you tell me your name?” The shark hears the voice again, he looks up, finding the same human from before, the one who took all the plastic off him. He’s not sure how to feel about the boy, sure, he’s nice, he hasn’t shown any sort of malice. But he’s also human, the man doesn’t fancy humans. He doesn’t know what compels him to, but he speaks,

“Chan. My names Chan.” The boy smiles bright, showing dimples that are similar to Chan’s own. This almost makes him want to smile as well. Almost.

“My names Jeongin,” He starts cheerily, “My friend is going to be here any second, we’re going to get you help at our home, ok?” Chan frowns. He doesn’t really want to go to their home. He wants to go to his own home. But he doesn’t really have a choice. He’s in pain, theres no way he’s swimming that far, theres no way to call his mates, and he’s tired. He’s so tired. Plus, theres the information he can get. So he nods, accepting his fate. He won’t be gone for that long, right?

“Great! I think he’s here, I’ll be right back.” With that the human, or, Jeongin, sprints off, leaving through a small entrance in the rocks. Chan sighs. How are they going to transport him? What if Jeongin’s friend isn’t as friendly as he is? 

The merman keep s relying on the fact that if he gets in danger with the humans, he still has his nails and teeth he can claw with, and his large tail that could defiantly knock someone out. But then how would he get back to sea? Chan hums in thought. Well, he may not have the unescapable charm speak like Seungmin, but he can still charm humans with his voice. It just comes as a natural ability with his species, he might be persuasive enough to get them to take him back if things go south. 

A sharp gasp takes Chan out of his thinking, pulling him to turn his head in the direction of where the sound came from. Standing at the entrance is another human, along with Jeongin at his side. He has light brown hair, and face that resembles a bear. Odd, but pretty.

“Jeongin what-“

“Don’t worry, don’t worry,” The smaller boy holds his hands out, “Its just a merman, he needs help.” Jeongin’s friend shakes his head, looking at Chan with wide eyes, scared to take them off of him. Chan raises an eyebrow in question.

“Thats not a merman Jeongin,” He says slowly, as if any sudden movements would set the shark off,

“Thats a siren.” Jeongin’s eyes widen comically, staring at Chan in disbelief. Mer-people and sirens are very different, their similarities are that they’re both fish/humans, but thats about it.

Mer-people look just like that, fish, and human, if you were to look at only their top half, you’d assume its just some person playing in the water. Their tails are vibrant colors, elegant and eye-catching. Mer-people have been known to help humans, and even fall in love with them. Sirens are different.

They’re human half looks more warped, less pure, with their pointy ears, sharp teeth, fingers that morph into claws, piercing eyes, gills that breathe at their ribcage, fins that come from their sides and back, they don’t look normal. They’re mixed with already living sea creatures, like Chan for example, is mixed with a Oceanic White-tip Shark. 

Siren’s are the protectors of the sea, they don’t hake time to help or mingle with humans. They even lure humans into their domain, then murder them brutally, snacking on their kill. This human seems to know his stuff.

“Yes,” Chan huffs, “I am a siren. But just as this human has done nothing to harm me in my weak state, I will do nothing to harm you.” He looks at Jeongin, his gaze softening. Jeongin’s friend, which Chan thinks he overheard his name to be Woojin, looks at him closely, as if analyzing him.

“He’s not using charmspeak,” He comments, looking him over closely. Chan makes a noise of surprise. He knows when he’s using charmspeak? Very few humans have that ability. Woojin notices the look of surprise on his face.

“I’m a marine biologist.” He explains. Chan’s eyebrows furrow further in confusion. Woojin sighs,

“I study marine wildlife, like you. I study things like you.” The siren nods his head in understanding, that makes sense.

“I think we can trust him.” Jeongin smiles, looking up at his elder friend. Woojin frowns, looking uncertain. Chan huffs,

“Look, do I dislike most humans for what they’ve done to my home? Yes. Do I hate all humans? No. I believe there are ones with good intentions. I believe you two are some of them. You shouldn’t be judged just because of what the majority has done. I promise, I won’t hurt you.” He’s telling the truth. He doesn’t think people should be condemned for others actions. Woojin sighs.

“Ok, I believe you.” Chan smiles slightly, shark teeth appearing.

“So… Do we put him in the truck? How do we get him up there?” 

“Well we have to be careful,” Jeongin frets, “He has a lot of cuts from plastic and nets… Do you think you can get his tail? I think we could carry him if we tried together.”

“Yeah, ok.” Woojin crouches next to Chan, admiring his tail when he gets close enough. He runs a large hand over the smooth skin, eyes dancing with curiosity. Chan almost laughs at how entranced the other seems. 

“Sorry,” The human apologizes, “Its just-I’ve always wanted to see one of your kind up close. I’m sorry if this hurts.” Woojin frowns, eyeing the cuts along the grey surface. 

He hooks his arms under the tail, while Jeongin supports Chan’s torso by looping his arms with the sharks, then lifting. 

Chan hisses, but tries to remain as still as possible to make it easy for them. 70% of his weight is in his lower half, having a giant tail and all. Woojin seems to be struggling a bit. They take him out of the rocky entrance, before making their way up a short hiking trail that leads down to the beach from the top. Chan can see a shiny vehicle at the top, it fills him with anxiety. 

He doesn’t know how they work, or what they’re called, but he knows that they can be dangerous. He knows that something similar is what dragged Felix away.

“We’re almost there,” Jeongin huffs, doing his best to not drop the shark.

After what feels like forever, going agonizingly slow so that Chan doesn’t injure himself further, they reach the sliver contraption. 

“Uhh,” Woojin looks around, frown etched on his face.

“I need to open the back of the truck, can you support him for a second?” Jeongin nods, tightening his grip on the man. 

Woojin sets down the shark tail with a whispered ‘sorry’ when Chan’s face contorts in pain, the black rough surface below them not feeling good in the slightest. He hears a clicking sound, and then the end of the vehicle comes unhinged. It opens up, confusing Chan even further. He heard Woojin call it a ‘Truck’. 

“Okay,” Woojin comes back, lifting Chan’s tail again. Jeongin follows, and they lift him into the back of the truck.

The surface is warm and rough, bumps on the floor slightly uncomfortable to lie on. Chan pants, he’s not even doing the work but he feels exhausted. He doesn’t like this, the human world. He wants to go back to looking at it from afar.

“I think you should stay back here with him.” Woojin suggests to Jeongin, “Make sure he’s not seen. We don’t need to go on any big roads so you’ll be fine.” The smaller human nods, looking back at Chan. He looks scared, white eyes searching for an unknown threat.

“Yeah, I can do that.” Jeongin climbs into the trunk, going to lay next to Chan. The siren crosses his arms over himself, feeling exposed in this foreign territory. 

His skin is much rougher than human skin, harder to penetrate, yet the sharp ends of broken plastic still managed. 

He’s well built, firm abs running down his stomach from years of being active and hunting. He has a very bold appearance, so it surprises him when Chan starts freaking out when the engine turns over. He flails desperately, trying to find something to grab onto.

“Hey hey,” Jeongin reaches out for his hand, careful not to cut himself on the others razor claws. Chan grips the humans hand hard, trying to ground himself.

“Its ok, you’re ok,” Jeongin keeps whispering encouraging things to the elder, hoping to calm him down. When the siren keeps freaking out, Jeongin pulls him closer, wrapping his arms around the creature. 

Jeongin’s not sure if this is ok, if sirens are used to lots of affection through touch. Its Jeongin’s natural reaction, whenever he himself is having a panic attack, hugs always help.

Chan relaxes slightly, shocked from the sudden action. He doesn’t pull away though, so maybe its ok. 

The shark tenses whenever they hit a slight bump in the road, in which Jeongin rubs his back soothingly. 

Chan feels like purring (yes, he can purr.) the sensation of the human being so close to him weirdly relaxing. Chan’s cold blooded, Jeongin’s warm blooded. His skin feels warmed for the other. 

The thought of being this close to a human would’ve repulsed Chan to his core just thirty minutes ago, but now he’s enjoying it. He finds himself looping his arms around Jeongin’s back when a particular bump as him whining in fear. 

He doesn’t know whats happening, he’s confused. Jeongin keeps talking to him in a hushed tone, making sure to comfort him in anyway he can. Chan sighs, squeezing his eyes shut. Maybe staying with the humans for this short time won’t be so bad. If it means getting to feel this warm again something so unfamiliar, maybe he’ll enjoy it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> feedback is appreciated:33
> 
> Also what sea creatures do you think the rest are combined with? :0


	3. out of water

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m back baby, but after this it might be a while before it’s updated, I’m going back to school:( RIP

“WHAT THE HELL?!?!” A loud scream resonates through the small house, startling Woojin and causing Jeongin to fall out of his seat. 

With a groan the youngest stands up, rubbing his head.  
“What on earth…” He trails off, then whips his head to Woojin in realization. Woojin look back, eyes widening when he catches on.

“Hyunjin!” They both exclaim. Shit. 

Both of them scramble out of the kitchen, leaving the lunch they were eating to grow cold. They couldn’t care less right now. 

Both of them shove each other into the wall as they compete to get up the stairs as fast as possible, taking two steps at a time while tripping over their own feet. They rush into the master bedroom as quickly as possible.

“Hyunjin its ok!” Jeongin shouts when he enters the bathroom, Woojin right on his heals. In front of them is Hyunjin, staring in shock at whats in front of him, jaw dropped. 

Sitting in the bathtub, is Chan. Despite having put him in the largest bathroom they have, with the master tub, its still too small. His tail hangs out the end, and he has to lay awkwardly on his side so he doesn’t smash his dorsal fins.

“WHO IS THIS?” Hyunjin yells again, Chan cringing and trying to cover his ears. His senses are extremely heightened, more heightened than a normal siren. You see, most sirens have some sort of special ability, Chan’s is that he’s an excellent fighter and hunter, with his extra sharp claws and teeth, and his heightened senses. Which in this moment, seems more like a curse.

“Hyunjin calm down,” Jeongin hushes, seeing that Chan is suffering.

“CALM DOWN?!” Hyunjin looks at him with wide eyes, 

“There is a MERMAID in my bathtub!”

“Siren.” Chan corrects with a frown. Hyunjin chokes on himself, “WHAT?!” He’s heard Woojin’s tales of sirens. How could they bring one into their home? He’s going to kill them!

“Its ok, he’s not gonna hurt us.” Woojin intervenes, seeing Hyunjin’s terrified look.

“That doesn’t explain, why he’s in my house.” Hyunjin breathes deeply, not taking his eyes off Chan. Maybe they should’ve given the boy a heads up before bringing a mythical creature into their home.

“Jeongin found him, he’s injured. We decided to help him.” Woojin tries to explain, putting a hand on the humans shoulder. Hyunjin looks back at Chan, who waves at him with a clawed hand. The tall human pales considerably, fear evident on his face.

“You’ve told me stories about sirens,” Hyunjin looks at Woojin, “How could you take him in here? Knowing what they can do?!”

“Stories?” Chan speaks up, intrigued. Woojin scratches the back of his head nervously.

“Yeah… My buddy found a dead body on the shores about seven months ago, it was pretty brutal. Turns out some sirens got to them and ate away.” Chan hums, looking up in thought.

“For all I know, me and my group are the only sirens in this area, seven months ago you say… That was probably Changbin. Always a bit brutal when it comes to unwanted creatures in his domain.” Hyunjin looks like he’s going to puke,

“It was your friend?!” He exclaims. Chan tilts his head in confusion, “Yeah, why?” Like he doesn’t know what the big deal is. Woojin bites his lower lip, trying to explain better.

“You’ve gotta keep in mind that it isn’t necessarily cannabalism. Chan isn’t human. If humans eat another human, it completely messes up our system because, y’know… We aren’t made to eat each other. But for sirens it’s normal.”

“Plus,” Chan speaks up, wanting to give his input, “We only ever eat people who stray beyond their boundaries, or actively hurt us. If someone were to get to close to our home, we can’t have that information getting to every human because we’ll be destroyed. Our place is very well hidden, so you’d never stumble upon it, you’d have to be actively looking. So don’t worry about me eating you whole unless you plan on dumping trash into my waters or you try to harm me.” 

Woojin nods, then looks to his friend. Hyunjin still looks offset despite the explaining. He still doesn’t like that Chan has the capability of eating someone. Especially because he looks like a shark, sharks are scary… 

“But he’s half human right?” Hyunjin tries to point out. Woojin shakes his head.

“No. See, if a mer-person were to eat a human. Thats disturbing, because Mer-people are indeed, half human. Sirens take on the appearance of us… But they’re more fish than human. Our anatomy doesn’t add up. Like the fact that he has two hearts! Right?” The eldest looks at the siren to take sure he’s right. 

Chan nods, placing both of his hands where his two separate hearts would be. One of them is where the human heart is, the other is below and to to the right, basically directly in the center of his chest. 

Hyunjin huffs, he’s still not convinced. 

Chan smiles apologetically, slinking further into the tub. 

“So he’s just staying here?” The tall boy asks, staring skeptically at the boy.“Until he’s better, yeah.” 

Hyunjin huffs, glaring at Chan for a second. Chan glares back, his unnerving eyes getting the best of the human till he looks away.

“Whatever, keep the merman. But if one of you gets eaten alive, I warned you.” With that he turns on his heel, grumbling to himself as he walks out of the room. Jeongin looks at the siren, smiling apologetically, 

“Sorry… Hyunjin doesn’t warm up to people easily, especially if they have a shark tail. No offense.”

None taken.” Chan sighs, lying his head back. His face scrunches up in pain as he tries to move, his body sore from being in the same position for five hours now, his dorsal fin not allowing for much movement. God he misses the ocean.

“I’m sorry its not very comfortable.” Woojin frowns. Theres no way he can stay like that, it might just injure him further.

“Are you ok with being out of the water? Maybe you can just rest in a pillow fort or something.” Chan tilts his head,  
“…Pillow fort?”

“Yeah, it’ll be super comfortable.” Jeongin adds in. Chan looks up in thought.

“I can stay out of water for as long as you guys can, however, my skin gets pretty dry, and unlike you,” Chan flips his tail up, “Theres not much to do on land.”

“Thats ok, you’ll just be resting anyways, we’ll make sure your skin doesn’t get too dry.” 

“Ok… Yeah, that sounds better than this.” Jeongin beams, “I’ll go make you a spot!” He rushes out of the room at lightening speed, ready to grab all the pillows in their house. Chan smiles at his eagerness to make him comfortable. He didn’t know humans could be this nice.

“We’ll be right back.” Woojin informs, going to chase after his friend. Chan sighs, cringing slightly as he rests back in the water.

xxx

“Here we go,” Woojin huffs as he lies Chan down, carrying him bridal style out of the bathroom. Man was that a work out. Not only is he heavier than a man of his size should be (I mean he has a large shark tail, what do you expect,) but he’s extremely slippery, like a fish. 

Chan sighs when he feels the fluffy blankets on his cold skin, a foreign, but pleasant feeling.

“What is this stuff?” He asks, holding the long fluffy fabric. Jeongin giggles, going to sit next to him.

Ok… Yeah, that sounds better than this.” Jeongin beams, “I’ll go make you a spot!” He rushes out of the room at lightening speed, ready to grab all the pillows in their house. Chan smiles at his eagerness to make him comfortable. He didn’t know humans could be this nice.

“We’ll be right back.” Woojin informs, going to chase after his friend. Chan sighs, cringing slightly as he rests back in the water.

xxx

“Here we go,” Woojin huffs as he lies Chan down, carrying him bridal style out of the bathroom. Man was that a work out. Not only is he heavier than a man of his size should be (I mean he has a large shark tail, what do you expect,) but he’s extremely slippery, like a fish. 

Chan sighs when he feels the fluffy blankets on his cold skin, a foreign, but pleasant feeling.

“What is this stuff?” He asks, holding the long fluffy fabric. Jeongin giggles, going to sit next to him.

“Its called a blanket.” Chan makes a noise of surprise, gripping it tight in his hands. The sound he makes when he gets surprised is un human, a high throaty sound projected from this throat, Jeongin thinks its cute. The way he gets so confused by human contraptions, but is so curious to learn. 

“Soft.” He comments, still holding it in his hands. 

“Here,” The human grabs the purple fluffy blanket, wrapping it around the sirens shoulders. He makes the noise again, and Jeongin has to keep himself from laughing. He pulls it tight around him, a loud rumbling sound emitting from his chest. It catches both the humans off guard.

“Are you purring?” Woojin speaks up, looking at him in awe. Chan stops, his cheeks heating up.

“Uh… Yeah…” He coughs awkwardly, “Yeah. I was.”

“Don’t be embarrassed,” Jeongin leans into the shark, taking the creature by surprise,

“Its cute!”

“Uh-cute?” Chan asks, face brightening even further.

“Yeah, sorry if thats weird, if this is weird.” He frowns, pulling away from the siren from where he was pressed up again him. “We don’t really know each other, plus I’m human, I’m sorry.”

“No, its ok,” Chan reassures, “I don’t hate humans, at least not you guys, its ok, really.” Chan isn’t quite sure why he’s so keen on reassuring the boy. Maybe its just because he’s so nice, plus he’s warm. Chan loves warmth. It comes with being cold-blooded.

“Are you sure?” Jeongin asks timidly, fiddling with his fingers. Chan nods with a smile, pulling him back in. 

Sirens, despite their cold and vicious appearance, are very touchy towards each other. They show love and affection through actions more than words. Jeongin seems to do the same thing, like when they were in that truck and the shark was freaking out. He hugged him instead of talking, Chan appreciates that, its what he’s used to.

“Anyways,” Woojin speaks up after a second, pulling Chan out of his wonderland, 

“You’re probably hungry, what do you normally eat? Besides humans.” Chan clears his throat awkwardly. He was going to say that humans are more like a treat, but maybe that isn’t appropriate in present company.

“Mostly just fish.” He answers. Woojin hums while scrolling on what Jeongin calls an ‘iPhone’. Chan took one look at it and decided he didn’t even want to know. He doesn’t care what they say, its magic.

“I’ll order some sushi, also, I wonder if you’d like chicken…” Chan makes in ‘o’ with his mouth.

“I’ve heard of that, isn’t it a bird?”

“Mmhm,” Woojin looks up from his phone, “I’ll order some of that as well. I’m sure you’d love it.”

“Thank you,” Chan says more quietly, “For everything. Its very kind of you to trust me.”

“Of course!” Jeongin beams, wrapping his arms once again around the siren. 

“I’m glad you decided to come with us,” Chan smiles warmly, showcasing his sharp teeth. But then he remembers Felix. Poor Felix who doesn’t know where he is, who doesn’t know how to escape from the mess he’s in. The real reason Chan is here. He let him go, he was unable to save him. It’s his fault, he shouldn’t have been so careless. 

The shark forces a smile, he’ll wait till after they eat to ask about his friend, not wanting to ask favors the second he got into their home. He may be a siren but he still has common decency. 

Chan sits in silence, a damper on his mood from thinking about his friend. 

Woojin and Jeongin don’t seem to notice, happily chattering with each other, the younger boy still very near the siren. Chan closes his eyes, trying to block out the memory of Felix screaming in pain, and Chan not being able to do anything about it.

“Why didn’t you do anything?” Felix whispers, his freckled face inches away from Chan’s. His dull eyes reflect hurt and betrayal, staring at Chan in disbelief. 

The shark swallows heavily, tears starting to sting the sides of his eyes. His throat feels choked, he’s unable to say anything back to the boy. Felix’s grey eyes boar into Chan’s white ones, sorrow dripping down his face.

“Why didn’t you save me Chan?” It throws him over the edge, and he starts crying, tears streaming down his face, looking at his friends scarred and bleeding face, cuts and bruises from the fishermen lining his perfect features.

“I’m so sorry Felix,” he sobs, “Felix please, please forgive me, please,” he starts rambling, brain not functioning completely, too full of guilt and hurt. 

He reaches out for the other siren, but his hands passes through him like mist, making him cry even harder.  
“Please, please-

“Foods here!” Woojin’s voice echoes through the room as he walks in, holding white containers. 

Chan blinks his eyes open, awakening from nightmare. His body is rigid, sweat dripping down his forehead and back, chest rising and falling unevenly.

“You ok?” Jeongin asks from beside Woojin with a frown, leaning down to look at him. Chan nods shakily, lying.

“Just a dream, I’m ok.”

“Must’ve been some dream...” Jeongin frowns, looking deeply into Chan’s odd eyes. “You sure it wasn’t a nightmare?”

“It’s nothing.” Chan almost snaps. Jeongin shuts his mouth, deciding to not intrude further. The shark seems protective over the matter. Chan feels slightly bad for snapping, but he doesn’t say anything, looking at the floor, Felix’s face still on loop in his head. 

“Well anyways,” Woojin clears his throat while sitting down. He has two plastic containers in his hands. The shark sees them out of the corner of his eye, before locking in on them completely. He glares and growls, bearing his sharp teeth. He’s seen many of those in his home, has been cut by them on multiple occasions. 

Woojin freezes, going rigid when he sees the deadly look on the sharks face mixed with the growling. What did he do to him?! 

“Woojin, it’s the containers.” Jeongin hisses. He looks at his hands, then back at Chan. Indeed, his attention is fully focused on the containers. Not him. Thank goodness.

“Oh, it’s ok Chan,” he tries to explain hurriedly, “We recycle all plastic.” Chan stops growling, instead raising an eyebrow in confusion. “...recycle?” 

Jeongin nods, “It’s when you take the plastic, and then you make it into something else that has a purpose. So you don’t just throw it away, where it eventually ends up in your waters.” He does his best to explain. Chan tilts his head. Interesting.

“We’re trying to get rid of plastic all together, so we don’t have to recycle but...” Woojin sighs, “Its not that easy, it’s taking some time, but I am hopeful to think that it’ll happen some day. We just have to keep working at it.” 

Chan calms down after the explanation, sinking back into his blankets.

“Sorry.” He apologizes. 

Woojin smiles, “It’s ok, you didn’t know. I can understand why you got upset.” Chan nods shallowly, feeling a bit guilty for being so harsh over the containers. 

They go back to normal after that, Woojin dishing out some food. Chan keeps making noises of surprise, (much to Jeongin’s liking, he loves that sound) curious on why the food looks so neat. In his domain, you kill, and eat. Nothing in between. 

The fish he’s seeing here is wrapped in several different things, into a little roll. They call it Sushi. 

Chan watches as Jeongin eats it whole, seeming to be enjoying himself. He sees him using two small sticks to pick it up. Too confusing for Chan. 

He picks it up with his fingers, mimicking the sticks with his long claws. He bites down on it, humming in surprise. 

“You like it?” Jeongin asks, laughing slightly. Chan nods eagerly, going to eat another one.

“You should try some chicken,” Woojin comments, mouth still full. Chan tilts his head again. He does it whenever he’s confused instead of speaking, Jeongin thinks it’s adorable. 

“I’ll cut you some.” The young boy smiles, going to bring a piece of the bird onto his own plate. He grabs a knife to cut with.

“Ow!” The boy hisses, dropping his utensils to cradle his finger. Blood beads from a long cut, the knife not sharp enough to cut through cleanly. He put a little too much force on it and the utensil shot back at him. Ouch.

“Wooj, I cut myself.” He pouts, holding his finger up. 

Chan whips his head around, seeing the bloodied finger. Shit. He grabs his head, forcing himself to look away, breathing starting to escalate quickly. No no no.

“...Chan?” Jeongin asks quietly, his attention being pulled to the shark. He looks like he’s in pain, gripping his own grey hair tightly.

“Get away from me,” he says quickly, grip tightening, threatening to cut himself.

“Chan what-“

“I SAID GET AWAY,” he nearly screams, eyes dilated into large saucers. Jeongin looks at him in shock, what the hell?!

“Jeongin, get away,” Woojin says urgently, grabbing the boy by the arm. He pulls him hurriedly out of the bedroom, leaving a growling Chan to curl up on himself, chest rising and falling quickly.

“Wooj what happened? Is he mad at me? I didn’t do anything!” Woojin shakes his head, taking him to the other bathroom that’s upstairs.

“You’re bleeding.” He points out while turning on the sink, acting as if that explains everything.

“I still don’t understand.” Jeongin sighs. Woojin often talks like everyone is on the same level as him, points things out that, in his brain makes perfect sense, but to everyone else it’s just a puzzle.

“Chan is a shark siren,” he starts to explain better, 

“from what I’ve learned, shark sirens are extremely sensitive to human blood, even the sight of it can drive them crazy. I’m pretty sure he was protecting you.” 

“Protecting me...?” He questions. Sure didn’t seem like it.

“Look, he could’ve just pounced on you and taken what he wanted, but instead he warned you. He was doing his best to fight his urges.” Huh... guess he didn’t think about it like that.

“Well, is he going to be ok?” He frowns, remembering the scene of the siren death gripping his own hair. Those claws are really a safety hazard to have attached to you 24/7.

“I’m sure he’ll be fine,” Woojin reassures,” “just give him a few minutes to calm down.

“Did Siren boy attack you?” Hyunjin asks while sticking his head around the entrance to the bathroom, his long blonde hair is messy, barely contained in his bun, but he’s unbothered.

“No, I cut myself.” Jeongin pouts. He doesn’t want Hyunjin thinking he was right about the boy being a monster. He’s not, he can’t control how he reacts, he was born like that. 

“...then what was the screaming?” He presses further. Jeongin’s frown turns into a scowl, starting to get annoyed.

“He reacts strongly towards human blood. He told me to get away from him.”

“Or what?” Hyunjin asks with a small smile on his face, “What was he going to do? Was I right? He was going to eat you?”

“No-“

“I totally was right! Oh my goodness I told you he was too danger-“

“STOP!” Jeongin screams, his anger bubbling over. He can’t handle Hyunjin’s teasing right now. He grabs a bandaid out of the cabinet, ripping it open to put it on himself.

“It’s not his fault, and he’s NOT a monster!” 

“Ok ok, I’m sorry.” Hyunjin puts his hands in front of himself, not expecting the outburst from the youngest. He always teases him, and he’s never reacted that way. 

“Just stop.” He huffs, pushing roughly against the taller boy to get out of the bathroom. Hyunjin tried to say something, but the boy is gone before he can find the right words to say.

Jeongin makes a V line right towards the master bedroom. He’s not sure if that’s the smartest idea, but he wants to feel comforted by someone who’s not Woojin or Hyunjin. There’s only one other person in the house. 

He opens the door cautiously , finding a curled up Chan, hiding under the fluffy blankets. 

His long tail pokes out at the bottom, not able to fit with the rest of him, grey and white caudal fins twitching. 

Jeongin’s still not sure if this is a smart idea, probably not, but he moves over to the siren anyways, stepping over him before sitting down. 

Chan’s irregular eyes flick up to him in surprise, eyebrows furrowing.

“Jeongin...?” He asks uncertainly. The young boy sighs without replying, instead going to lie down next to the shark. 

Chan told him affection through touch is normal for him, so he won’t mind this, right? 

The human pulls himself closer to Chan’s bare chest, wrapping his arms around him. He always gets clingy when he’s upset or sad. 

Chan doesn’t skip a beat, wrapping his arms around the human. It’s normal, his friends also do this to him whenever they’re sad or mad. The siren can smell the distress coming off the human, he knows he’s in need of comfort. A siren can’t say no to that.

But he just freaked out on him and he’s already back...? He shakes his head. He must be really upset if he’s coming to him of all people for comfort.

Jeongin notices that Chan is unnaturally cold, like a corpse. But he’s cold blooded so he guesses that makes sense. I must feel so warm, Jeongin thinks to himself. He smiles at the thought, burrowing deeper into Chan. The shark takes it, letting his eyes flutter shut while the human hugs him. 

xxx

“FELIX!” Chan wakes up in a cold sweat, bolting up right, chest heaving. He grips at the blankets underneath him so tightly he thinks he punsters a hole in them with his claws. 

Jeongin startles awake as well, still being cuddled into his side. 

“Chan-what’s wrong-“ he freaks out, trying to get used to his dark surroundings. 

It’s now the middle of the night, the two having dozed off. 

The shark catches his breath, trying to calm down before speaking to the boy. He can’t close his eyes for a second without seeing his friend.

“Chan, can you please tell me what’s wrong?” Jeongin asks quieter, but still equally as worried. The shark looks over at him, finally coming down from his panic.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you.” He sighs, putting his head in his hands.

“It’s my friend, every time I close my eyes I see him. I couldn’t do anything to help him, and now he’s probably suffering somewhere all alone.” Chan starts to tear up, covering his face with his hands. He knows Jeongin doesn’t know what he’s talking about, who Felix is. How could he even help? Why did Chan come here again?

“Is that why you were on the beach?” Jeongin asks gently, starting to rub soothing circles into his back. The siren shivers from the movement, relaxing slightly. He nods, sniffling.

“Can I ask what happened to him? If there’s anything I can do to help?” 

“Something took him,” Chan starts to tell, fidgeting with his clawed fingers, “he was caught in these fishing nets, then dragged away by a very fast... thing.”

He doesn’t know how on earth to describe it, his lack of human knowledge makes communicating with these mortals difficult at times. 

“It was kinda like the truck we rode in, but different?” He cringes at himself. He knows what he trying to get at in his brain, but saying it out loud just isn’t working. 

Jeongin doesn’t make fun of his lack of knowledge, instead looking up in thought, trying to decipher what the siren had just told him. He’s too kind.

“A boat?” Chan perks up at the word, it clicks in his brain.

“Yes! A boat.” He knew he knew the word, it just wasn’t registering. 

Shyness suddenly takes over him, worried for what’s next. Dreading on what the answer could be.

“Do you think we could find him?” What if they can’t? What if he’s long gone? What if they... 

No.

Chan shakes his head, trying to clear his thoughts. They couldn’t have. Felix is a rare creature, they would make more money selling him. Chan shivers at the thought, he needs to hurry.

“Well,” Jeongin scratches the back of his head, “it’s against the law to capture mer-people and sirens. If they did accidentally catch one, it would automatically be reported.” Chan’s spirits lift a bit, “unless they’re doing it illegally.” They drop again. 

Jeongin notices his crushed look, eyes staring at the floor, head drooping.

“But if they are doing it illegally,” Jeongin decides to add, “Woojin works with this kind of stuff all the time, illegally captured sea creatures by local fishermen. 

He can report it and organize a search party. A few years ago a mermaid was caught, and they found her before anything could happen. I’m sure we can find your friend.” 

Chan smiles with his sharp shark teeth, tackling the boy in a hug, wanting to feel that body heat that humans give so freely. 

Jeongin wheezes at the sudden attack, air being knocked out of him.

“I’ll take that as a thank you.” He says airily. Chan doesn’t reply, instead keeping his tight grip on the human. He might have a chance of finding Felix.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Feedback is appreciated, also follow me on Instagram and Twitter: @bangnialdo

**Author's Note:**

> I WANT TO DO CONCEPT ART FOR THIS TOO >:(((
> 
> Follow me on Twitter for art, feel free to submit ideas to me as well,  
> Twitter: @Bangnialdo  
> (my insta is also @bangnialdo:)


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